18 November, 2011

Occupation Fumble

These idiots involved in the Occupy Wall Street protest totally miss the point that without corporate profits there is no money for industry to expand production and hire more workers. They believe company executives are paid too much money. First of all, corporate profits come into play after executive salaries and bonuses have been paid, and secondly what they earn is only a small part of the cost of running a corporation.

But no one seems to mind that in the sports world “superstar” athletes have grabbed much more than a fair share of revenue and have driven the cost of attending major sporting events through the stratosphere. I guess as long as your team is winning it's okay. I say bullshit to that. We see the breakdown of our families, but at the same time make it difficult for them to enjoy sporting events as a family activity, because of the insane cost of tickets, parking, food, souvenirs, etc. And it's not just at the professional level. Pitt sent me an email before the Notre Dame game announcing that there were tickets still available. Sure, at $85 per seat―give me a break! When I went to college you got into games with just your student ID. Today, the only valid picture IDs are ones showing portraits of past Presidents, commonly known as money.

I've spoken on this subject before, perhaps too often. People just don't get it. Meanwhile, I have no trouble staying away from big time sporting events. Fortunately, there are still some professional teams around who offer decent bang for your buck. Perhaps these players are working to become spoiled rotten millionaires, but I say enjoy watching these minor league teams while the cost is still reasonable. Or be active and enjoy participating in sports yourself. For sure, a couch potato physique is nothing to be admired, is it?

Back to the occupation movement. It has no direction, no unified purpose. People simply busting their ass to be on TV, or to simply make assholes of themselves, to which they are achieving absolute success. Work that hard at getting a job and “oh my gosh” you might actually get one. Imagine that! No, you probably won't become a spoiled-rotten-body-covered-with-tattoos-that will- look-shittier-the-older-you-get multimillion dollar sports icon. But you've entered a great place where too few tread―the Land of Common Sense. Blow your newly found money on things like insanely priced sporting events and all bets are off. The ball is in your court.